Benjamin Jameson
Benjamin Joseph Jameson (born October 26, 1979) is a retired American professional wrestler, wrestling executive, trainer, and actor best known for his stints with Total Non-stop Action Wrestling under the ring name Benjamin Jameson. Jameson is currently employed by Global Wrestling Association, serving as the promotion's Vice President of Talent Relations and on-screen General Manager. Jameson also has extended backstage experience, being named the assistant general manager and commissioner of TNA Wrestling in 2007 and 2008, respectively, while being the general manager in Ring of Honor Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and Xtreme Wrestling Federation all throughout 2006. Most recently in November 2011, Jameson became a trainer at a wrestling school located in Phoenix, Arizona headed by his mentor Frank Richards. Early life Jameson was born in Des Moines, Iowa as the only child of Joseph and Rachel Jameson (née Smith). Jameson's paternal grandparents are Jacoby and Beverly Jameson (née Rose) while his maternal grandparents are Rodger and Ruth Smith (née Anderson). At the age of four, the Jameson and his parents moved to Southern California where they lived in Burbank for most of Benjamin's childhood. Growing up, Jameson began to watch wrestling shows broadcasted by ECW, WCW, and WWF on television. Some of Jameson's favorite wrestlers were Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Hardy Boyz, Scott Hall, and Sting, whom he would befriend after embarking on a career in professional wrestling. Jameson lettered in baseball, basketball, and football at Burbank High School before attending Cypress College where he graduated with an associates degree in business administration. Afterward, Jameson transferred to Concordia University Irvine where he played third baseman for the university's baseball team as a walk-on during his junior and senior years until becoming a hitting coach after graduating a year later with a bachelors degree in sports management. Wrestling career .]] Training (2005–2006) Jameson was trained by Frank Richards at the Richards Wrestling Academy for approximately eight months. During this time, Jameson won the school's championship as a way of becoming a graduate of the promotion. Jameson then went onto wrestling at several house shows for Extreme Wrestling Corporation but chose not to sign with the company. Meanwhile, despite making appearances in Absolute Intense Wrestling, Jameson chose to sign a contract with elsewhere citing scheduling and payment as his reasons to decline offers from both promotions. Total Non-stop Action Wrestling (2006–2011) Triple X (2006) Jameson was quickly spotted by Total Non-stop Action Wrestling after leaving EWC and AIW. He made his first appearance with TNA Wrestling under the ring name Triple X and teamed with his best friend T-Jay, on Xplosion. The duo formed an alliance with Sting, Brock Lesnar, and Juelz Santana, calling themselves Wolfpac. A month after debuting for TNA, Triple X and two other members of Wolfpac were drafted to Impact as the promotion had split its roster into two halves. Triple X, T-Jay, and Sting went onto forming their own group on Impact called Triple Threat. Winning a series of qualifying matches, Triple X qualified to enter a three-way match to win the inaugural TNA World Championship where he unfortunately lost against the Enforcer and the Game. He was visibly upset after the match and did not appear on television for the next four weeks. After a month long absence, Triple X returned as Triple X and entered in a feud against his former Wolfpac partner, Sting. The feud ended abruptly, however, as Triple X chose to leave TNA by the end of May. The Triple Threat (2006–2008) Three months after leaving TNA, several vignettes aired on both Xplosion and Impact to promote his return to TNA. Upon arrival to the former company, he was now going by his real name, Benjamin Jameson. After weeks of indecision, Jameson chose to sign with Impact where he engaged in a memorable feud against the Rock. The rivalry, however, shortly ended because of the Rock's acting career while Jameson had suffered a minor muscle tear in back. After a three-month hiatus, Jameson returned to Impact but would appear with a sling on his arm and only appeared in promos and backstage segments. Meanwhile, Jameson formed an on-screen and off-screen relationship with Stormy, the General Manager of Impact. Sting, the ex-husband of Stormy, found out about their relationship and confronted Jameson. Jameson would turn heel for the first time in his career when he cost Sting the TNA World Championship. Because of this, Jameson formed an alliance with the Game and David Arnold, where the trio would be called Evolution. Jameson would help the duo dominate Impact by the end of 2006 as a force to be reckoned with. On the first episode of Impact in 2007, Jameson made his in-ring return in a title match and won the TNA Iron Man Championship against the Monster Machine. During a non-title match a month after the title victory, Jameson sustained a dislocated shoulder and was forced to be sidelined again. A months after suffering another shoulder injury, Jameson returned to television in February. Dubbing himself "the Triple Threat of TNA," bragging about his abilities on the microphone and in the ring, along with his overall level of charisma, he entered in a feud against Rey Mysterio for Jameson's supposedly vacant Iron Man Championship. Afterward, Jameson was officially announced as Impact's Assistant General Manager under the tutelage of Stormy. The week after Jameson's title victory, he was placed in a match against then-TNA European Champion Kane as both men defended their respective titles. With Jameson gaining a victory, he became the quickest wrestler in TNA to become a double champion. With this action, the couple of Stormy and Jameson began their regime on Impact. One of Jameson's first actions took place on the April 12th edition of Impact when he interrupted Alex Slash, who was announcing his resignation speech. He stole the TNA Hardcore Championship from Slash and dubbed himself as the new titleholder. Because of Jameson's actions, his "punishment" was to be placed placed in a three-way match for the Iron Man Championship against Kyle Stevenson and Marcus Jones. Jameson won the match and then announced that he merged both the European and Iron Man titles where it became the TNA X-Division Championship. This technically made Jameson a quadruple champion but the accomplishment didn't last long when Jameson lost the Hardcore Championship to the Demon. Jameson then developed a legit feud with Mr. Kennedy. After weeks of trading verbal blows, the two had finally met on pay-per-view where Jameson defeated Kennedy. After the match, Jameson unified the Iron-Man and X-Division titles. On the night before, however, Jameson achieved the ultimate accolade as he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his contributions to the promotion. Jameson had continued his feud with Kennedy, this time for the newly unified X-Division Championship. A week later, Jameson booked a Ladder match to name a number one contender for his title on an episode of Impact. Shortly before the match began, the stipulation was subsequently changed as Jameson apparently had vacated his title and the winner of the match would become the new champion. Marcus Jones had retrieved the title and was announced as the new champion but Jameson then attacked Jones, stating the rules were reversed to its original stipulation and Jones would not become the new champion. The following weeks Jameson showed more tactics of a heel and the final straw was when he interfered in a match consisting of the Game, who had returned to TNA that night. Jameson announced that he Game would not be hired and announced that he himself would also quit. Apparently, Jameson was contemplating a break from professional wrestling, citing a burnout, and also disliked some of the fellow wrestlers. In late June, Jameson was relieved of his contractual duties and became a free agent. After a five-month absence away from wrestling, Jameson returned to TNA in 2008 for the third time but as a staff member. Named the promotion's Commissioner, Jameson was once again in charge of Impact. He made his on-screen return on the night of New Year's Day during a confrontation between Demon, Sting, and Stormy. After two months of planting the seeds of a long-term feud between he and Sting, Jameson was ousted from the promotion because of a misunderstanding with his ex-fiancé, Stormy. By the end of February, Jameson left TNA for the third time and thus ending his second major run with the company. Undisputed Champion (2011) On March 21, nearly three years after his last wrestling-related appearance, Jameson appeared on Impact by addressing the crowd and stating that he had officially returned to TNA Wrestling. A week later, Jameson made his in-ring return in a pay-per-view match against his old rival, Mike Dimter, at Guilty Pleasures. Almost three years in the making, Jameson won his first match back in professional wrestling after easily defeating Dimter. Jameson then rekindled his friendship with Sting as the duo participated in tag team matches in the following weeks, reforming their Triple Threat past. Towards the end of April, the duo had began to show dissension as Sting would leave Jameson alone in the ring during a tag team match on Impact. Finally by the end of the month at the Collision Course pay-per-view, Sting betrayed his friend by attacking Jameson, who had just gained a victory over Demon. The brutal assault left Jameson in the hospital for the following three weeks. Jameson finally returned to television late in May as a surprise entrant in a battle royal to name the number one contender for the TNA Undisputed Champion, which he ultimately won. Per match stipulation, Jameson was placed in a pay-per-view match the following week against Danny Michaels. At Cyber Monday, Jameson won his first major championship by pinning Michaels and was named the promotion's Undisputed Champion. A month later, Jameson successfully defended the title in a three-way match against former Evolution ally David Arnold and former TNA Undisputed Champion Matt Michaels at HomeComing: 2011. At the time, this match would be the last bout for Jameson's in-ring career as he left TNA in the midst of his title reign due to a heated exchange with Sunny. Jameson ultimately vacated the Undisputed Championship, severing ties with the company as the promotion would remove all past references of Jameson on their website. Since then, Jameson has viewed his former employer with disdain and vowing not to return to the company which he found most success of his wrestling career. Retirement (2011–2012) Empire Wrestling (2011) In the months leading to the opening of his second promotion, rumors identified Jameson reopening All Magnitude X Wrestling. That would not be the case, however, as he would go onto opening his own promotion, Empire Wrestling. Alongside Daniel Caldwell and Ace Montgomery as financial backers, EW would open its doors in late July and debuted its first show on August 1. Ultimately, the company aired a total of four televised events and a pay-per-view show by the end of August before ultimately choosing to cease its operations. While numerous rumblings about EW folding were scattered throughout the internet, critics point to poor television ratings and lackluster attendance records as a driving force for Empire Wrestling to become a defunct wrestling promotion. Trainer (2011–2012) Retiring from in-ring competition in July 2011 Jameson stepping away from duties as a wrestling promoter two months afterward where he then became the head trainer at the Richards Wrestling Academy, a developmental promotion owned and operated by his former mentor, Frank Richards, located in Los Angeles, California. The school was the same establishment from which Jameson attended in 2005 and graduated a year later. Among the graduates who have learned from Jameson are Frank's two sons, Maxwell and Taylor. Then in 2012, Jameson relinquished his duties of being the promotion's head trainer to his friend and former RWA graduate Terence Jackson. Global Wrestling Association (2012–present) In August 2012, Jameson returned to wrestling after a year-long hiatus from being seen on television as an on-screen General Manager for Global Wrestling Association. In actuality, Jameson was hired as the promotion's Vice President of Talent Relations, being responsible for acting as a go-between amongst his supervisors and the members of the roster. Jameson also undertook the task of negotiating contracts with the wrestlers while acting as the company's de facto scout, recruiting aspiring talents from various locations and attempting to lure them into joining GWA. Since his hiring, Jameson has made decisions of improving the formatting of the show including expanding the roster by adding both a tag team and female division, establishing the GWA Tag Team Championship and the GWA Starlets Championship, creating the Road to Glory Contract ladder match, and constructing the sixteen-man March Madness Tournament. Personal life Jameson is currently in a romantic relationship with Monica Harris, a former model and exotic dancer. He was previously engaged to Stormy on two separate occasions (February 2007 and January 2008) before the couple officially separated because of what Jameson called "irreconcilable differences". He also dated Babydoll during TNA's cross-promotion with Ring of Honor Wrestling in 2006. Jameson previously dated models Samantha Murray, Sarah Miller, and Vanessa Torres. He also was previously linked with former soccer player and World Cup winner Christine Hollis. Jameson and Terence Jackson have been best friends since their days of playing organized football as preteens. At Jackson's wedding in 2006, Jameson served as the groom's best man. Jameson is also good friends with Frank Richards, his trainer and mentor, and Viper Blade, with whom he would travel during their time on the road. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Benjamin Bomb'' / Beast Bomb (Powerbomb) – 2006 **''Jameson Drop'' / XKO (Jumping cutter) – 2006–2011 **''Jameson Lock'' (Arm trap crossface) – 2011 **''JSK (Jameson Super Kick)'' / X-Check (Superkick) – 2006–2011 **''STF-X'' (Stepover toehold facelock) – 2006 *'Signature moves' **Abdominal stretch **Bionic elbow **Diving elbow drop **Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope **European uppercut **Facebreaker knee smash **Full nelson slam **Headlock takedown **''Jameson Combination'' (STO backbreaker followed by a reverse STO) **Jumping knee drop **Overdrive **Russian legsweep **Short-arm clothesline **Snap DDT **Spinning spinebuster **Vertical suplex, sometimes delayed *'Managers' **Charisma **Flaming Star **Frank Richards **Stormy **Vanessa Torres *'Nicknames' **"The Beast" **"The Hottest Free Agent in Professional Wrestling" **"The Triple Threat of Professional Wrestling" *'Entrance themes' **"Burn in My Light" by Mercy Drive (2006) **"Wolfpac Theme" by C-Murder / Hart & Helm (2006) **"No Chance" by Dope (2006) **'"Across the Nation"' by The Union Underground (2006–present) *'Wrestlers trained' **Jeremy Richards **Jordan Richards Championships and accomplishments *'Total Non-stop Action Wrestling' **Hall of Fame (Class of 2007) **TNA Undisputed Championship (1 time) **TNA Iron Man Championship (1 time) **TNA X Division Championship (1 time) **TNA European Championship (1 time) **TNA Hardcore Championship (1 time) External links Category:1979 births Category:Absolute Intense Wrestling alumni Category:All Magnitude X Wrestling alumni Category:American characters Category:American wrestlers Category:Assistant general managers Category:Characters Category:Characters from Iowa Category:Commissioners Category:Empire Wrestling alumni Category:Enforced Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Extreme Fanatic Wrestling alumni Category:Extreme Wrestling Corporation alumni Category:Former wrestlers Category:General managers Category:Hall of fame members Category:Hardcore champions Category:Iron Man champions Category:Living people Category:Male characters Category:Male wrestlers Category:Owners Category:Retired wrestlers Category:Ring of Honor Wrestling alumni Category:Total Non-stop Action Wrestling alumni Category:Trainers Category:World champions Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Wrestlers Category:Wrestlers from Iowa Category:Writers Category:X-Division champions Category:Xtreme Wrestling Federation alumni